Warrant: Father-in-law of mom in church murder had bloody shirt
MIDLOTHIAN, Texas -- Four days after a Texas woman was found bludgeoned to death inside a church, her father-in-law brought a bloody shirt to a nearby dry cleaner, according to a police search warrant.
Randy Bevers allegedly told an employee at the Dry Clean Super Center of Midlothian that the shirt had animal blood on it, according to the warrant. Bevers' daughter in law, Terri "Missy" Bevers, was found dead on April 18 in the Creekside Church in Midlothian, about six miles away.
In addition to the shirt, which police described as a women's white long-sleeved shirt, "which is stained with blood," investigators also obtained a receipt which describes the stains as "animal blood red." The warrant allowed investigators to obtain the garment from the dry cleaning business.
But Terri Bevers' husband, Brandon Bevers called the search warrant a "non-issue" in an interview he and Randy Bevers gave to CBS DFW on Wednesday afternoon.
"I wanted to make sure we put this fire out. This is such a non-issue. We wanted to address it fast," Brandon Bevers said.
Randy Bevers says he didn't think twice about taking a bloodstained shirt to the same dry cleaner his daughter-in-law once used.
"Only a person trying to hide something, would have tried to hide something like that," he said.
Randy Bevers told CBS DFW that the blood came from their pet dog Kilo, who was killed in a fight with another dog at a relative's house, where and his wife have been staying since the murder. Randy Bevers said shirts belonging to both him and his wife were stained with the animal's blood when they brought the dying animal to the Animal Emergency Hospital of Mansfield.
The Bevers' said police warned them to expect scrutiny and added that they are not upset about the warrant for the shirt.
"The fact that the person at the dry cleaner had the wherewithal to call the police .... we need that of vigilance," said Brandon Bevers.
Terri Bevers died from a head wound on April 18 as she was getting ready to lead a 5 a.m. fitness class. A person seen in surveillance video wearing what appears to be police body armor broke into the church before she arrived, according to police. The killer used an unknown instrument to strike her in the head, according to a previous police warrant.
Asked if police ever indicated he was a suspect, Brandon Bevers said it's investigators' job to start by looking at him.
"Well, I'm part of the process of elimination, they start from within and work their way out," Brandon Bevers said.
Brandon Bevers said at the time of the Terri Bevers' murder, he was on an annual fishing trip in Mississippi. He said he turned over to police plane tickets and a car rental receipt that support his alibi.
Police have said they have a list of persons of interest, but no suspects in the case.